Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger Slated for TUF 15 Finale

The UFC announced on Wednesday that Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann will do battle in the main event at the TUF 15 finale on June 1 in Las Vegas.

Ellenberger (27-5-0) is on a role in the UFC. After losing his first fight to current interim champ Carlos Condit in his octagon début back in 2009, “The Juggernaut” has rattled off 6 straight wins, including his last two over Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez.

In comparison, Kampmann (19-5-0) has gone 4-3 in his last 7 fights for the UFC (10-4 overall). He’s 2-2 in his last four and looked to be heading to 1-3 before stealing a win from Thiago Alvez in the waning seconds of their fight by pulling off a slick guillotine choke.

They have 3 common opponents between them. Here’s how they have done against them:

Both guys are considered top 10 welterweights in the UFC, and some in the media are saying that the winner of this fight should be the next to get a title shot, Nick Diaz be damned.

I only half agree with this.

If Ellenberger wins, I say give him a title shot. If not, give the title shot to Diaz. Kampmann needs to show me that he has stabilized a bit more before I give it to him.

That said, the consensus is that this is a #1 contenders match and the winner of this fight will get the winner of Condit vs GSP (if and when that happens).

Both of these guys have heavy hands and can finish. Ellenberger has out-struck everybody he has fought in the UFC (including Condit). Kampmann’s ground game in somewhat underrated and I think his best chance of victory is getting this one to the floor. If he tries to out strike Ellenberger he’ll be in for a long night.

My pick? I think this is going to be a great fight, but I see Ellenberger winning this one in round 4 or 5 via TKO.